The Dark Ages
by Koji Inari
Summary: Ash accidently started a war. Now he's 17, living at a military base with a demon Umbreon and no hope. With Pikachu gone, how can he keep his sanity? Rated M for violence and Language. Angst
1. Chapter 1

-1**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon…but some of the characters and plot I do own.

**Title**: The Dark Ages

**Rating**: M for violence and swearing

**Prompt**: Shadows are tearing at my skull

**A/N: **A Pokemon fic? With no romance? What has gotten into me? Heh, just kidding. I actually like pokemon to some extent, I just decided to write this for a few reasons.

1.: This is a gift for my friend Rhett (not that he'll probably ever read it.)

2.: I had an urge to make pokemon more violent…well…because I have a twisted mind.

3.: I wanted to write an action fic for once. It's also great for my writing skills which were getting a little rusty.

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**The Dark Ages**

**Chapter 1**

Thunder rumbled through the sky as the two titans battled. On one side was a huge bird-like creature with blue and white markings and blue frills running down its back. The other was a giant green dragon with razor-sharp claws. The danced around each other, searching for a chance to strike.

In the open field below them stood two humans, intent on the fight. A gust of wind blew back the hood of one. He was a teenager with sharp eyes and jet black spiky hair. He was watching the battle unfold, paying particular interest to the dragon.

"Rayquaza!" yelled the other man. He stood a little over 6 feet tall and wore all black, even his hair was black. "Rayquaza! Use take-down!" The dragon above them hesitated a moment, then charged head-first at the bird.

The teenager's eyes flashed, seeing an opening he yelled up at the bird, "Lugia! Dodge it!" The bird waited till the dragon Rayquaza was only inches from hitting it before dropping below the behemoth dragon. "ICE BEAM! NOW!" The bird looked up and opened it's maw, a bright blue beam formed from within its depths and grew rapidly in size, within seconds it was larger than the bird's mouth, lighting up the scene. Lightning flashed and yellow mixed with blue as the powerful attack was released.

Both trainers on the ground had to cover their faces as the sonic boom blew past them. A large cloud of dust kicked up and it was impossible to see the outcome of the furious barrage. The teenager coughed into his sleeve and opened one eye, searching the sky for signs of the two titans.

He didn't have to wait long, soon the ground shook with the explosive impact of the dragon's body. Rayquaza lay on it's side, barely breathing. Ice covered much of it's mid-section.

The teen smiled, which is to say his frown lessened. No one smiled any more, there was never a reason to.

"Finish him off Lugia!" The bird swooped down out of the dust cloud that was now starting to settle. It examined the situation for a moment before diving head-first for the injured dragon. The trainer in black fumbled for a small object on his belt and barely managed to get it off and hold it up. He shouted "RETURN!" and the dragon disappeared in a flash of light. Lugia barely avoided crashing into the ground.

"Running away?" asked the teen bitterly. He held out a device similar to the one that the older man had used and recalled the bird to it. After replacing it on his belt he pulled out another ball and held it up. "I won't let you"

"Don't underestimate me boy!" The man threw out three more balls, each releasing a monster. A large snake made of iron appeared from one, and from the other two came a pair of giant monsters in the shape of rhinos on their hind feet.

The teenager narrowed his eyes and felt a pang of worry knot up in his stomach. His pokemon were tired, they wouldn't last long if he made them keep fighting. Already 3 of his party were fainted, and Lugia wouldn't be able to fight another battle for a while. After counting his options he threw out a black pokeball. It rolled across the ground before opening up, what appeared on the field was something only a select few people had ever seen before.

"I'm sorry you have to see this." The teen's eyes were shadowed, he stared at the ground as if looking up would kill him. The man in black could tell that the boy was shaking, though weather from excitement or fear was anyone's guess. The man turned his eyes back to the field so he could get a look at whatever the boy had decided could defeat all 3 of his babies.

The pokemon wasn't very large, only about 3 feet tall at the shoulder. It had black fur that seemed to hold a purple glow. Small purple sparks flew off of its body in random patterns. It's eyes glowed yellow and seemed to hold a strange intelligence in them. Yellow circles were imprinted on its forehead and legs, they also seemed to glow.

At first the man thought this was an ordinary umbreon, though it was a little small for its specie. But then he noticed that there was something _different_ about this umbreon.

The teenager looked up causing the man to take a step back in fear. His eyes glowed with the same yellow radiance that shown from the umbreon's eyes. "What the hell are you??" He screamed.

The boy and pokemon spoke as one, and the boy's mouth was changing. It grew fangs and his jaw jutted out, disfiguring the handsome teen. "I come to kill, I come to destroy you." The voice was drawn out and quiet, but at the same time loud as a siren. The pokemon opposite the umbreon were now getting frightened and backing up with their master.

"S-stay away!" cried the man. He fell over and hit his head on a rock before blacking out. His pokemon, seeing their fallen master, did the only thing they could do. They fainted immediately.

The disfigured teen on the other side grimaced as his jaw went back to normal. He walked over to the umbreon in the middle of the field and patted its head, scratching a sensitive spot between its ears. "Good job" he whispered. Then he stood up and walked over to the man. Protocol was to kill the man and his pokemon immediately, but the boy had never liked killing. Instead, he found the poke balls on the man's belt and recalled the fainted pokemon. Thos he placed in his pack before pulling out a small black phone. It rang several times before someone finally answered.

"What do you want? I'm busy!" The person on the other end sounded out of breath, as if he had been running.

"Sir it's me, I've got a legendary trainer here, he had a Rayquaza."

"A Rayquaza you say? Interesting…You disposed of the trainer?"

"No sir, he's unconscious, I had to use Umbreon on him."

"I see….you never were one for killing were you Ash?"

"No Sir….no I'm not."

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Yeah, you may (or may not have, probably not have) read this before. I had it up at one point, then deleted it. Now I've re-vamped it and put it up again because I'm bored and felt like it . Now, I never got any reviews on the last time it was up, so please make me happy? My goal is 1 review at the moment. Just 1 review! Please make me happy .

R&R please!


	2. Chapter 2

-1**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon…but some of the characters and plot I do own.

**Title**: The Dark Ages

**Rating**: M for violence and swearing

**Prompt**: Shadows are tearing at my skull

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**The Dark Ages**

**Chapter 2**

Ash walked down the dark corridors of the underground base with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had failed to kill an enemy in battle, normally he would be punished severely, but this enemy had seen his umbreon. He couldn't be allowed to live. Ash tightened his grip on his glove. By bringing the man back here, he had spelled doom for him.

"Ash?" The voice was familiar in all but its tone. Ash looked up to see a teenage girl looking at him sympathetically. "You ok Ash?" The boy blinked before letting out a long sigh.

"Yeah Misty, I'm just tired of this war."

"…I heard you got another legendary trainer…."

"Yeah…Almost lost a few of my team though, the battle was close. I had to use Lugia _and _Umbreon." Ash looked at the ground then back up at his life-long friend. "I get nervous every time I use him…"

"You mean Umbreon…" Misty looked at the black cord that hung loosely around her friend's neck. Attached to it was Umbreon's black pokeball.

"Yeah…" Ash fiddled with the ball nervously. "It just seems strange to know that he holds so much power…."

"You used the illusion didn't you?" Misty looked into Ash's eyes, the edge of his irises were turning red slightly.

"Yeah" he said again. His voice was shaky, and he looked as if he were going to fall over.

"Go to bed, I'll cover for you." she smiled at him and a warm glow began to grow in Ash's stomach, replacing the earlier sickness. Misty was the only one Ash knew that could smile during this war. He was glad he hadn't lost her. Not like he'd lost Brock…and Pikachu.

A tear formed in the corner of his eye as he remembered the sight of his friends' bodies being crushed. Pikachu had tried to save Brock, but there is only so much an electric rat can do to protect someone from a collapsing building.

"Ash?" Misty's voice brought him back to reality. Ash looked up and nodded at Misty to show that he was ok, then walked off in the direction of the mess hall. He wanted some food before he went to bed. He knew that tonight would be like all the others, filled with nightmares and tears.

He sighed, once again looking at the poke ball hanging from his neck. The little guy inside had once belonged to Gary, his formal rival. Gary was now dead, like his grandfather. His research center had been infiltrated and demolished by fanatics, everything had been destroyed, including Gary himself. All that remained was the Umbreon in Ash's ball, the first in a long line of genetically altered Dark pokemon.

Ash worked his way to the mess hall for a bite to eat. There wasn't much there, everyone was tight on cash, which made food and supplies difficult to come by. If things progressed much further the research would have to be abandoned all together. Ash grabbed a cup of water, some stale bread, and some dried meat. Not a very satisfying meal, but at least he wouldn't starve.

Ash turned to leave when he was suddenly stopped by a twitch from his poke ball. The Umbreon inside wanted out, but Ash knew he couldn't let it out here, too dangerous. He hurried from the mess hall and up to his quarters. The twitching of the poke ball was getting more rapid and noticeable. Ash wondered if he could get to his room in time.

He rounded the corner and fumbled with the key to his room. He managed to unlock the door and get inside before the ball opened with a flash of light. Umbreon appeared before him, blinking those bright intelligent eyes.

-_Ash_- stated the Dark pokemon. It talked through a link in Ash's mind. The power was almost telepathic, almost. Dark pokemon were the opposite of Physic pokemon. Normal Dark trainers wouldn't have the abilities that Ash had with Gary's Umbreon. But this Umbreon was _altered_. It wasn't normal. In fact, it was deadly.

-_Why did you come out? Go back in the ball_.- Ash spoke over the link to the Umbreon, if he spoke normally, it wouldn't understand him. Inwardly he shivered, when their minds were linked he felt unclean, as if he had just waded through some toxic waste.

-_I don't want to go back, the real world is so much more interesting than that boring ball. You try being in one_- The Dark pokemon yawned and curled up on the rug in the middle of the floor. -_Go to sleep as you were going to do, I won't disturb you_-

-_Bullshit, last time I went to sleep with you out I had the worst nightmares of my life_.- Ash glared at Umbreon, unsure of what to do. If he forced it back into its ball, it would just escape again. But if he held the connection to the pokemon's mind much longer, he'd throw up.

-_Did it ever occur to you that maybe these nightmares are caused by your own unstable mind?- _It blinked at the trainer then gave a mental sigh. _-If it will make you feel better I will go back to the ball, but remember, I get to be out longer tomorrow. That battle today was pathetic.- _

Ash let out a small groan of exasperation. The Umbreon seemed to only want to battle. Ash only used him in an emergency, unlike the other Dark trainers around here, he didn't like using his power. He felt that he would lose himself, and he was scared of what he was capable of.

"Return" he said, and Umbreon zapped back to his ball without complaint. The second the ball was closed Ash felt his uneasiness slide away, to be replaced with weariness. He walked over to his bed and plopped onto it, not bothering to remove his clothes. Within moments he gave himself away to sleep. And away to his nightmares.

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Yeah, poor Ash, I feel sorry for him… (Not really, I love Angst heh.) Anyways, I'll be torturing him a little more, so please read more! You know you want to!

Please R&R


	3. Chapter 3

-1**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon…but some of the characters and plot I do own.

**Title**: The Dark Ages

**Rating**: M for violence and swearing

**Prompt**: Shadows are tearing at my skull

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**The Dark Ages**

**Chapter 3**

Artificial lighting flowed in from a crack in the door, casting shadows all about the room. Ash continued to sleep, rolling over with a groan every once in a while. Nights weren't very good for him lately. Since the war had started he had had nightmares continually. Sleep deprivation was constant, and he always had bags under his eyes. If it weren't for the extremely tiring daily regimen, he would probably be an insomniac.

But each night the teen somehow found the will to sleep, if fitfully. And each night he would awake in a cold sweat. But tonight, he slept rather well. None of his dreams involved him dieing, and only a few involved Umbreon. So it would only be natural that he didn't awake when someone walked into his room.

The intruder snuck quietly so as not to disturb Ash. After taking a few tentative steps inward, he stopped and examined his surroundings. The room was plain enough, no more furniture than a couple of beds, a chair, and a dusty unused lamp. The only other item in the room was Ash's pack, which currently lay on its master's bed.

The figure moved toward the bed, cautious not to wake up the sleeping teen. His target was the pack, nothing more. As he approached something glinted, attracting his eye. Around Ash's neck was a black poke ball. The figure stopped and examined the scene. Taking the ball off of Ash's neck could prove dangerous, but if he could successfully retrieve it, he would certainly be in for a promotion.

_Damn_ he thought. _ I don't know what to do…should I take the ball? If he's wearing it around his neck it must be pretty valuable…But then again if I wake him I'll be in big trouble…_

The intruder deliberated a moment longer before deciding the ball wasn't worth it. He reached across Ash's sleeping form and wrapped his fingers around the strap of the pack. Gently he lifted it until it was completely off the bed. Snatching it up, the intruder bolted, leaving the door wide open. He had done his job.

Back in the room a pair of red eyes contemplated the sight they had seen.

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"IT'S GONE!!!" Ash hopped up and down, tearing his bed apart looking for his pack. Nothing was there however, and his searched proved fruitless. By this time others who shared dorms in his section had come to see what the problem was.

"Ash?" asked a blue-haired man. He walked over and put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Ash looked up at him with a look of pure terror. "Its gone!!! My pack is gone!!"

The man cocked his head to the side. "Well what did you do with it?"

"I didn't do anything with it! It was here when I went to sleep!" Ash gestured wildly to his bed. "But now it's not!"

"You should keep better track of your things…"

"I didn't lose it! Someone stole it!"

The blue-haired man raised an eyebrow. "Stole it? Who would steal your pack? Why would anyone want to?"

Ash stopped for a moment and thought about it. Why would someone steal his pack? Then it hit him. The pokemon! He hadn't turned them in last night, they were still in his pack!

"Oh shit…" Ash angrily punched the wall, trying to think of what to do next. If his pack was missing that meant that someone from inside the building had taken it. Which meant that they had either been infiltrated or had a traitor.

"Now what?" asked the blue-haired man. Concern didn't touch his voice, it sounded more like annoyance.

"The pokemon I got off that guy yesterday were in my pack, and now it's gone!"

The man shrugged. "No one could have left the premises, don't worry, I'm sure your pack will turn up." He yawned and turned his back to Ash. "I'm going upstairs, try not to worry about it too much."

The crowd had dissipated now. No one really liked Ash, they had all heard the rumors about him, the rumors that he had started the war. Though none of them could prove it. If Ash got suspended they would be all the happier. Besides, they were all scared of his Umbreon. The creature was a demon and everyone knew it. Few believed that Ash could control it.

Ash moved to begin searching the rest of his room when his poke ball twitched. Seconds later Umbreon appeared in a flash of red light. The demon yawned before curling up on the floor. -_Something wrong?- _It asked.

-_Yeah, my pack's missing, know anything about it?- _Ash spared a glare at the Dark Pokemon before continuing his frantic search.

-_Now how would I know about where your pack is? I was not allowed out last night remember?- _A bit of sadistic humor touched the demon's voice, making Ash believe that it knew more than it was telling.

-_If you know anything spill it before I send you back into the ball_.- The threat had little effect on Umbreon, as usual. But the Dark Pokemon did respond.

-_Well, I did see a person skulking around while I took a midnight walk_.- Ash whirled to look at Umbreon.

"What?!?" ha asked aloud. He didn't know weather to be mad at the pokemon for leaving without permission, or be happy that he saw the person. -_What did the person look like??-_

_-Hmmm….I'm not telling.- _The demon looked away, if it were human, Ash would have sworn it was smirking.

_-TELL ME!-_

_-No-_

Ash groaned and slumped onto his bed, this was getting him nowhere.

"Ash, trainer 503, please report to General Bishop Immediately." The intercom frightened Ash making him almost fall off his bed. Great, now he was going to get yelled at. What more could go wrong?

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Ash poked his head into Bishop's office tentatively. "You…wanted to see me sir?" Bishop was busy looking at some file on his desk and didn't bother to look up. Ash cleared his throat and peeked a little farther in "Sir?"

"Have a seat Ash. There is something I wanted to talk to you about," Bishop finally responded. He still wasn't looking up from his file. Nervously Ash made his way into the room and took a seat in one of the hard backed chairs sitting in front of the General's desk. He wondered what the General could want. Did he know about the missing pack? Had Ash done something wrong? Was Umbreon to be terminated for being a risk? That last thought had Ash hoping. As much as he hated anything getting hurt, he hated Umbreon more.

"Now, according to this file, you fought a legendary trainer yesterday, is that correct?"

"Um, yes, sir," Ash replied, scratching his head nervously. "Did I do something wrong, or…"

"No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to talk to you about how you feel, about the war and all."

"How…I feel?"

The General smiled and leaned back in his chair. He was a heavily built older man with receding salt and pepper hair and a wrinkled brow. The small kind smile he showed made his sunken eyes look even more hollow and, if anything, made him scarier in appearance. "Yes, son, your feelings. I know how rough it must be for you as both a legendary and a Dark trainer. Not to mention the rumors floating around about you."

Ash sighed and fingered his jacket uncomfortably. He knew where this was going. It would lead to another psychiatric examination to test his mental health. Not that any of the tests were ever real. He was indispensable to the war effort, he couldn't be put aside simply because he had mental health issues.

"I'm fine, Sir," Ash replied. "Really."

"But you refuse to kill your opponents."

"…" The dark haired teen didn't know how to respond to that. It was true that he was against killing his opponents, though on occasion he had been forced to. Despite only being 17 he was no innocent. But killing just seemed so…wrong. Back when being a pokemon trainer had meant traveling the world in search of being the best Ash had welcomed, even looked forward to the day when he got his first pokemon. Now being a trainer only meant being a soldier, and being the best only made you a target.

"I understand how your ethics might get in the way, but sooner or later those ethics are going to get you killed." General Bishop stared down at the boy in front of the desk with a look, not of scorn, but of sorrow. As a general, he had seen many young boys just like Ash come through his office, boys with the same hopes, the same dreams. Dreams that had been shattered by the break out of war. The last thing he wanted was to make Ash a killer, but it was what might have to be done.

"I can fight without killing," Ash finally replied. "Don't think for a moment that I can't."

"I never said that you couldn't, all I wanted to make clear to you was that this is war, not a gym match, Ash. There are stakes here higher than just a dream to become a pokemon master. You were given that Umbreon because you were a highly qualified trainer who-"

"Bullshit. You just wanted someone to handle the monsters you created."

"Now Ash…"

"No! I'm tired of it. If all you're going to try to do is make me kill my opponents then you can dismiss me now, because I'm not going to listen."

Young weary eyes met older, battle hardened ones for a split second, then it was over. General Bishop motioned to the door with his hand. "Then I guess you may leave."

Ash didn't even listen to the General's words. The minute his hand had gone up he'd started toward the door. Inwardly he was sick of bureaucrats sitting around telling people how to run their lives, how to think, how to act. He was not a mindless drone who followed orders blindly.

The ever present poke ball around his neck gave a slight twitch in response to his thoughts, then settled. The pokemon within knew how its master felt and sympathized, but it also knew that Ash would not welcome any help from it. Until the teen could learn to accept things the way they were they couldn't achieve their true potential. The demon would just have to wait, wait and watch.

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That's all I'm gonna do for tonight….I'll put more up later. I'm mostly using this story as an exercise for my writing skills. I still have to work on Dirge, Model of Self Control, Heart Attack…Where does it end? Not to mention all the stories I never finished…..Oo I feel bad now.

Anyways, Please R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

-1**Disclaimer**: I don't own pokemon…but some of the characters and plot I do own.

**Title**: The Dark Ages

**Rating**: M for violence and swearing

**Prompt**: Shadows are tearing at my skull

**A/N: **Dedicated to Porygon181

**The Dark Ages **

**Chapter 4**

Ash stepped back into his room with a sinking feeling of disappointment and anger in his stomach. He thought back to the day when he had gotten his first pokemon, and how it had felt to know he was finally going to be a trainer. Granted it had hurt quite a bit, as Pikachu wasn't exactly thrilled at having a trainer, but the feeling of hope and excitement had been a pure high for Ash.

And now he was sitting in an empty dorm room, in an underground military base, with a demon around his neck.

Ash would have given anything, _anything_, to have Pikachu back, to go back to the way his life was before the war. But that wasn't possible, if wishes were fishes then beggars would be full. And right now Ash was the biggest beggar of them all.

"What am I going to do?" he murmured, his eyes glued to the ground below him.

Ash closed his eyes in annoyance when the poke ball around his neck twitched. Seconds later Umbreon appeared in a flash of light. The Dark pokemon stretched, then curled up into a ball and stared at its master.

-_Something wrong?- _ It asked.

"Nothing," Ash responded aloud. He pushed off the wall he was leaning on and began looking through his few things slowly. -_Just…Nothing_-

-_You are still searching for your missing backpack…-_The demon responded, keeping one red eye glued to its master.

Ash sighed and scratched at his hair. All the energy he had received from his good night's sleep had been drained already. He wanted nothing more to crawl back under the covers and fall into a deep, restful sleep. But he knew if he tried, he'd get nothing, nothing at all. Not even a Jigglypuff could put him to sleep now.

-_I don't want to talk about it.-_

­-_Well you will have to eventually.-_ Umbreon purred, wrapping its tail around its body. -_Legendary pokemon such as Rayquaza will not go missing without some sort of alarm, and it is obvious that your pack is not in the room.-_

Ash furrowed his brow, thinking over what the little Dark pokemon had said. "You mean…you saw someone take it?" He cast his gaze over to the little black fox, but it only stared at him, with slitted red eyes. The feeling of frustration washed over Ash once more.

"Why am I even bothering to ask?…" he wondered aloud. Slowly, he ell forward, so that his face was resting against the cool sheets on his bed. "You aren't going to tell me anything anyways…"

A knock at the door roused Ash from his thoughts. He looked up, to see the same blue-haired man he'd talked to earlier standing in the doorway. "Get ready," the man said. "General Bishop wants you in his office now for briefing."

"But I just got back from-"

"Now!" the man growled. And with that, he turned and left. Ash sighed and looked at Umbreon one last time. It was asleep.

Recalling the pokemon to its ball, Ash stood up and headed out of the room. Today was definitely going to be a long day.

----------OoOoOoOoOoO----------

As shivered as he walked through the ghost town that had once been a bustling outpost. Dead bodies were strewn over the ground, acrid smoke rose from destroyed buildings, and rubble was everywhere.

The place was quiet other than the occasional creaking of strained wood from the wrecked buildings. Ash below Ash's feet stifled any noise his footsteps would have made.

It was in that ash that the story of what had happened was written. But it was a confusing, troubling story. Footprints and paw prints were everywhere, marking the places of men and pokemon, but in some places, the prints were wiped clean, as if by some powerful wind. Something even stranger yet though, was that there didn't seem to be any tracks headed _into_ the town. There were no enemy tracks.

The possibility of an aerial attack was probable, but the evidence was of a ground battle, not an aerial one. Had the attackers been from the skies, the soldiers would have taken cover, not stood out in the open.

Then, on top of all that, there was the time limit. Word had reached General Bishop only shortly after Ash had left his meeting. By the time Ash had been summoned again to his office, the entire Outpost had been destroyed, with no sign of the enemy in sight. What on Earth could have possibly been so quick, so efficient, as to wipe out an entire military outpost in a matter of minutes?

It _could_ have been a legendary, but there was no trainer that Ash knew of who could possibly handle one so powerful. And it was still improbable that only one attacker had done so much damage.

Ash stopped just on the edge of the town, right where all tracks ceased to exist. Turning around, he surveyed the remains of the outpost. His gut clenched. So many people and pokemon, dead, because of this stupid war.

A rustling from the bushes to his right startled Ash. He turned around, pulling out the military-issued gun he was supposed to carry. Pokemon could only protect you if they were out, so all soldiers were given basic weapons training.

"Show yourself…" Ash growled, cocking the gun.

An Abra crawled out of the bush and looked up at Ash sadly. One of its arms were broken, and it looked to be in serious trouble. Sighing in relief, Ash put his gun back into its holster and reached out to pick up the poor wounded pokemon. "Poor little thing…did you get caught in the fighting?" he cooed.

The poke ball around his neck didn't even twitch, it simply burst open in a flash of light, causing Ash to stumble backwards and fall to the ground. Umbreon stood between him and the Abra, its hackles raised.

"Umbreon what are you-"

-_STAY BACK!- _it growled.

The Abra began to glow with a bright light. Ash watched in amazement as it changed from a wounded pokemon, into a full mirror image of Umbreon. Now there were two Dark pokemon, completely identical, growling at each other with hackles raised.

"A Ditto?" Ash blinked in disbelief. What other pokemon had that kind of morphing power?

"Very perceptive." Came a cool voice from behind. Ash turned, gun raised, to see a girl in her late teens with short black hair standing behind him.

"Who are you?" he asked, suspicion apparent in his voice.

"I could ask the same of you…" the girl replied, taking a step forward despite the danger of Ash's gun. When she came close enough, she reached out and laid a hand on Ash's arm. "You wouldn't shoot a lady would you?"

Ash was reluctant. He didn't want to hurt her, but then again, he'd have to, if she was going to hurt him. -_Umbreon?…-_ he asked uncertainly.

-_I-I don't know…-_ Ash swallowed. Umbreon seemed shaken by something.

The girl stepped forward once more. She was now practically standing over Ash, who was still on the ground from falling. "Are you scared of me, Ash?"

He wasn't surprised that she knew his name. Many people did. After all, he was one of the strongest trainers in the world, a legendary trainer, _and_ one of the few experimental dark trainers. There were few people who did not know his name.

-_Umbreon…-_ he pleaded. -_Help me_. _What do I do?-_

The Dark pokemon never got a chance to respond. The girl leaned down, pushed the gun away, and kissed Ash right on the lips.

Ash's world shook. His first thought was that he couldn't believe he was being kissed. His second was that her lips tasted funny, and the third was that he suddenly felt very, very, tired.

As Ash's eyes fluttered closed and his body went limp, Umbreon turned, a snarl rising in his throat. But before it could do anything, a net fell over it, coursing with an electric charge. The moment it made contact with Umbreon's skin, the charge was unleashed, shocking the Dark pokemon into unconsciousness.

**oO---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oo**

Hope you like the newest chapter! Ash is finally getting into the main storyline. I never really planned anything at first, but I get something in mind now. Please keep reading!

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW OR I'LL KILL ASH….YOU DON'T WANT THAT DO YOU?**

**-Koji**


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